CLAYS SENIORS OPEN NEWS 2025

Seniors - Info before the report: Hayley is not available next week. There will be no food or bar/drinks on Tuesday but Kerrian will be there on Thursday for drinks only. Where do I start my Open report? I normally mention weather but even the early damp conditions paled into insignificance with everything that followed. Brian has already published the winners and all details are on ig but can I add my congratulations to the Falcii on their win - 3rd on countback last year - top of the tree 2025. I don't want to repeat Brian's report except to say spot prizes were duly noted and there were no fewer than 8 recipients of prizes in the Ballsweep. All details have been sent to guests who provided e-mail addresses. Now the real report starts: Clays staff - I begin with thanks to Gemma, Josh and the reception team, who are always there with the detail (IT support, entries, markers, buggies etc.) and a special thank you to Andy who made sure the ball was rolling at 7.00am. The course was in fantastic condition and the next thank you goes to Mark and his team, who received numerous positive comments all round (except for one visitor who thought there were too many dog-legs). His legs were last seen upside down in a red bin behind the building. Hayley and Kerrian were busy all day, starting with breakfast baps and meals later on. Our Seniors are used to this good service but again, compliments all round from visitors - thank you both. Your Senior Committee plus Irwin and Gary - Chris, Fred and Irwin put in a huge stint on the desk with entries early doors and cards/results as they arrived later on. It was great to see results come live on the display board (despite your Captain coming halfway down). Early doubts with the IT system were put to bed and all flowed really well. Tom, as always, was our initial Starter and his sartorial elegance was commented on loudly from a distance, just as a visitor was at the top of his backswing! I believe Mr Miles is the recipient of a Senior Moment award. Gary followed on and I thank both Starters. What can I say about Don? He stood for the best part of 5 hours at the top of the stairs and nobody but nobody got past him without buying raffle tickets. It was even better to see all the raffle prizes go out, particularly held by guests with smiles on their faces. As I am typing, Chris will be working on the final figures but it has been a guesstimate that the raffle alone has easily surpassed last year's sum. It was a joy to share a pint afterwards, with the provider of the Aston Martin driving experience and a huge shift on behalf of the Seniors. Thank you Don. Malcolm, Stuart, Peter and Barry were on hand in different roles after their golf and made themselves responsible for most of the clearing up process. On your behalf, I offer my thanks to the entire committee for their efforts both before, during and after the event. Main man - Brian was co-opted in January to join the committee but with his wealth of knowledge and experience in organising awayday Opens, it was a banker installing him in the role for our very own Open. He has left no stone unturned, covered every aspect of the planning and made sure everybody was in place. He continued in different roles during the day, ensuring all was running smoothly. I know his glass of red last night will have gone down well, in the knowledge of a job well done. I offer my special thanks personally to him and also on behalf of all the Seniors. Great job - magnificently done! If I have missed anybody - written complaints in triplicate by Tuesday at the latest! We have an end financial result to come from our Treasurer - Chris and I believe we will all be very happy. My final thanks go to all the Seniors who provided raffle prizes (and there were lots), everybody who played on the day and everyone who made the effort to engage with visitors. The compliments were in abundance, we gained two new members on the day and many promises of a return for our Open next year. Roll on an even bigger and better 2026. A very happy Senior Captai

SENIORS WALTZ COMPETITION FROM STUART MILES

Good afternoon Seniors. 26 seniors put their tallies up, smaller turn out than usual, maybe some were put off by the weather forecast or saving themselves for Thursday's Open. Today's competition was a Waltz, Numbers meant there were 5, 4 balls and 2, 3 balls who played with a ghost player. Once the rules on ghost players were sorted and the person who had a senior moment and forgot his battery was mobile again the comp commenced. There was rain but not as bad as the forecast had shown. A lot of cards were returned with scores in the low to mid 8o's but the winners were as follows. 1st with 89 points. Andy Mitchell, Alan Bottomley, John Maxted, Les Williams. 2nd with 88 points. Don Wraight, Chris Blazedell, Barry Evans, Ghost Player. See you all on Thursday for our Open. A message from our Captain thanking everyone who has contributed a prize for the raffle, but also can those who haven't contributed please think about donating a prize. This is our major source of income for the year and goes a long way to subsidizing our Christmas dinner, remember the copious amount of wine we seem to consume is funded in part by our Open. If you have a prize for the raffle, bring it on Thursday and pass it over when you're registering or give it to one of the committee members. Thank you and best of luck Thursday. Stuart.

SENIORS VETS TROPHY RESULT VIA MIKE HOLLINGS

Seniors - Your committee organisers were a little perturbed today. A July calendar has been removed from the Senior noticeboard, so initially, that might have caused a little confusion. The Senior/Vets Trophy has always been a board competition requiring sign up with ig. All kitty comps are printed in blue ink but still we had players rolling up expecting a draw from the tallyboard. Please read all notices and calendars. There were a few problems with entering of results in ig, which were sorted but we then had a number of players who scored Stableford and picked up on certain holes. It was printed on the top of the card as STROKEPLAY - please read all information. Having got my whinges out of the way - the golf was very pleasant indeed. 45 seniors were eventually entered into the competition to be met with a rather cool breeze early doors. After a very wet weekend, the greenstaff did very well to clear the bunkers and get everything else back on track for today's golf. The fairways and greens were both in great condition. The weather changed, with jackets being discarded in the sunshine and quite a number of good scores were returned at the end of the day. I believe four seniors slotted twos, all on the 5th hole in the ballsweep: They are Fred Court, George Hughes, Eric Thwaites and Ernie Williams. There are only ever two winners for this particular competition and they are: Winner of Clays Senior Trophy 2025 - Andy Mitchell with nett 62 and Winner of Clays Vets Trophy 2025 - Brian Beaton with nett 64. Well done both of you! Memo: All board competition and medal cards from now on MUST be placed into the Senior Black Box, which will be located in the foyer on the desk or in the bar upstairs afterwards. Thank you for your co-operation with this. Also a reminder that there is a red box in the kitchen behind reception for any donations you can give towards the raffle for our Senior Open competition on Thursday next week. Again - thank you in anticipation.

JULY MEDAL 2025 REPORT FROM MIKE

Seniors - I am starting this report with a reminder that your Senior Open is not very far away now (in fact only two weeks). Brian and Chris have been working away behind the scenes to get everything sorted this year and so far, have made a very good job in advertising the 2025 competition. I believe we have over 100 entries, with more visitors than last year. You can still invite golfing colleagues at this stage and we would always accommodate them. A full house would be great. May I also remind you that it is also our biggest money spinner for the section, which includes a large raffle each year. Don always promises extragavant prizes like boats and trips to Bermuda. They occasionally appear and he does make money for us but he needs some lesser prizes to kick start his spiel, so if there is a bottle of wine or some chocolates in the cupboard that you can spare, they would be very much appreciated. There will be a large red box in the kitchen, behind reception, from next Tuesday for the collection of said items and I thank you all in anticipation of your generosity. July Medal - Today, what a glorious day weatherwise. Balls were running and the course played well. Scores were good from the 42 players who turned out today. There was only one player who scored a two on the second hole and Paul Wallace-Jones (our club Captain) will receive the entire contents of the ballsweep - well done Paul. As usual we are aligned in three divisions and in turn, the following names take the accolade for their scores: July Medal Winners: Division 1: 1st - Damian Atkin (Nett 64) 2nd - Angela Thomas-Williams (Nett 67) 3rd - Paul Wallace-Jones (Nett 68) Division 2: 1st - Lizzie Hart (Nett 65) 2nd - Chris Blazdell (Nett 68) 3rd - David A Jones (Nett 69) Division 3: 1st - Ian Ketland (Nett 70) 2nd - Leslie Williams (Nett 72) 3rd - Bob Jarvis (Nett 73 c/b) See you all next Tuesday for the Senior/Vets Trophy. Get your name into ig if you have not already entered. Mike

AWAY DAY RESULTS FROM STUART

Seniors - Stuart very kindly wrote the report for my Awayday. I have received many compliments about the way the day panned out thank you and I am glad that it was appreciated. The Awayday prizes were listed by Stuart (not all because there were too many) but we have just received the results from the Padeswood and Buckley Open. I am pleased to announce that these prizes are on top of all the prizes that were presented on the day. Read on: Visitors Prizes: First: Don Wraight and Paul Wallace-Jones (46 pts) £60.00 each Third: Paul Cheetham and Ken Burgoyne (42 pts) £40.00 each Fourth: Chris Blazdell and Steve Graham (41 pts - c/b) £30.00 each Ballsweep: Don Wraight - Hole 2 Ken Burgoyne - Hole 6 Don has informed us that he will pick up all of the prizes on behalf of the Clays winners. Thank you Don. Finally - do not ask your Captain about his two on the 18th - no £1.00 entry - no prize!!! See you all for Senior/Vets Trophy.

KITTY COMP RESULTS

Seniors, I have to say what a great day out. Thank to our Captain for organising the day and prizes and secondly to Brian Beaton for dealing with all the payments, thank you both. Many prizes where distributed for tantrums, length of time looking for balls, a bag of tees for me for putting 2 balls straight out of bounds on the first, fortunately I managed to get it together a bit better after that. > > Main results. > > Kitty Comp Results. > 1st Don Wraight / Paul Wallace-Jones. 46 points. > 2nd Steve Graham / Chris Blazedell 41 points c/b. > 3rd Wyn Jenkins / Mark Hughes 41 points c/b. > 4th Paul Cheetham / Ken Burgoyne 41 points c/b. > 5th Jon Fulcus / Roy Cardus 40 points c/b. > 6th Stuart Miles / Eric Thwaites 40 points c/b. > Well done to Don and Paul great score, let's hope you're in the main prizes. > > Two's > Don Wraight 2nd hole. > Ken Burgoyne 10th hole. > Mick McHugh 14th Hole. > Mike Healey 18th hole. > > Longest Drive on the 17th Reg Wittham. > Nearest the Pin. > 2nd Paul Cheetham. > 5th Ken Burgoyne. > 10th Chris Roseblade. > 14th Mick McHugh. > 18th Chris Blazedell. > > Lets hope we can make it an annual event. Thursday Medal and next Tuesday Seniors/ Vets trophy. Sign up on IG for Tuesday. Thanks again Mike and Brian.

AM AM MATCH AT OLD PADESWOOD

Seniors - yet another report. It was my pleasure today to play alongside my colleagues in a very convivial Am/Am match at Old Padeswood. We have played team v team in the past but the decision was made to change the format and it worked very well. We have experienced it at other clubs and it is definitely one for the future. Sixteen of us travelled and I have to add my thanks to the latecomers who filled in latterly. We played in respective fourballs, ate a fine meal afterwards and results were announced. Your Captain and Chris Roseblade with partners shot a very respectable 90 points but were pipped at the post by Malcolm Williams and Tom Pierce plus partners who carded 91 points. The winning fourball picked up a bottle of wine each and further spot prizes were presented but alas none came by way of the Clays team. We all had a very pleasant day. My thanks again to Mal and Tom for their organisation and money collections. The next match is on Tuesday 22nd July at home against Hawarden. I believe the sheet is almost full but there are still one or two places left. There is not in house catering that day so after the golf, Mal has organised a meal at the Hotel Wrexham up the road.

CAPTAINS AWAY DAY RESULTS FROM STUART MILES

Alan Pocklington From: arpocklington@gmail.com To: Chris Roseblade Cc: STUART MILES , Philip Kirby , David Cole. , aplynch@hotmail.co.uk , gwrightscissors@gmail.com and 58 more... Wed, 2 Jul at 08:17 Thanks to all the organisers for a great day out. Attached is another rogues gallery. Alan On Wed, 2 Jul 2025, 07:26 Chris Roseblade, wrote: > On 1 Jul 2025, at 17:09, STUART MILES wrote: > >  > Seniors, I have to say what a great day out. Thank to our Captain for organising the day and prizes and secondly to Brian Beaton for dealing with all the payments, thank you both. Many prizes where distributed for tantrums, length of time looking for balls, a bag of tees for me for putting 2 balls straight out of bounds on the first, fortunately I managed to get it together a bit better after that. > > Main results. > > Kitty Comp Results. > 1st Don Wraight / Paul Wallace-Jones. 46 points. > 2nd Steve Graham / Chris Blazedell 41 points c/b. > 3rd Wyn Jenkins / Mark Hughes 41 points c/b. > 4th Paul Cheetham / Ken Burgoyne 41 points c/b. > 5th Jon Fulcus / Roy Cardus 40 points c/b. > 6th Stuart Miles / Eric Thwaites 40 points c/b. > Well done to Don and Paul great score, let's hope you're in the main prizes. > > Two's > Don Wraight 2nd hole. > Ken Burgoyne 10th hole. > Mick McHugh 14th Hole. > Mike Healey 18th hole. > > Longest Drive on the 17th Reg Wittham. > Nearest the Pin. > 2nd Paul Cheetham. > 5th Ken Burgoyne. > 10th Chris Roseblade. > 14th Mick McHugh. > 18th Chris Blazedell. > > Lets hope we can make it an annual event. Thursday Medal and next Tuesday Seniors/ Vets trophy. Sign up on IG for Tuesday. Thanks again Mike and Brian.

DEVON TRIP LATEST FROM STUART MILES

Good afternoon Seniors from a very hot and pleasant Devon, yourstrully is sitting in the shade with a cold pint writing this report, hard life but someone has to do it. 2 days of competition completed. Results. Monday. 1stTony Vesty 46 points. 2nd Les Williams 41 points c/b. 3rd Brendan Hayes 41 points c/b. Tuesday. 1st Tony Vesty 38 points. 2nd Les Williams 35 points. 3rd Dave Fergus 32 points. Tony is in exceptional form and playing some great golf, he also leads the best net score with a 62 and the 28 my Ar*e trophy with 6 x 4 pointers or better. No catching him. A good time being had by all, I have to get back to my beer before it gets too warm so final report when I get back. Anyone interested in next year please contact me. Cheers. Stuart. Good afternoon Seniors from a very hot and pleasant Devon, yourstrully is sitting in the shade with a cold pint writing this report, hard life but someone has to do it. 2 days of competition completed. Results. Monday. 1stTony Vesty 46 points. 2nd Les Williams 41 points c/b. 3rd Brendan Hayes 41 points c/b. Tuesday. 1st Tony Vesty 38 points. 2nd Les Williams 35 points. 3rd Dave Fergus 32 points. Tony is in exceptional form and playing some great golf, he also leads the best net score with a 62 and the 28 my Ar*e trophy with 6 x 4 pointers or better. No catching him. A good time being had by all, I have to get back to my beer before it gets too warm so final report when I get back. Anyone interested in next year please contact me. Cheers. Stuart.

QUALIFIER FOR WELSH GREENSOMES.REPORT FROM STUART MILES

Seniors, an important qualifier today for the final of the Welsh Greensomes. Sadly after the last few weeks the weather man was correct and we all got a good soaking. Result. 1st Tony Vesty, John Maxted 41 points. Runners Up. Barry Dare, Reg Peacock 39 points. 3rd Mick Carnell, Malcolm Williams 38 points c/b. 4th Eric Thwaites, Stuart Miles 38 points c/b. Congratulations to Tony and John and we wish them the best of luck in the final at Llandridod Wells on the 4th September. Barry and Reg will be first reserves for the final. See you Thursday. Stuart.

STABLEFORD RESULT FROM STUART MILES MAY 22ND 2025

1st Tom McGrady 40 points. 2nd Paul Wallace-Jones 39 points c/b. 3rd Petr Lord 39 points c/b. 4th Don Wraight 38 points c/b. 5th Brian Beaton 38 points c/b. 6th Barry Evans 38 points c/b. 7th Tony Harcombe 37 points.

TEXAS SCRAMBLE REPORT FROM STUART MILES MAY 20TH 2025

Seniors, good afternoon, sorry for the late report a few jobs to do on the way home. Amazes me the number of seniors we have, 24 were away on an open competition, at least 6 I know are on holiday but 24 seniors still put their tallies up for the kitty comp. A quick discussion and Texas Scramble was agreed as today's format. Played yet again in glorious weather. Result. 1st Ian Ketland, Bob Brown, Fred Court, Stewart Pool. 58.94. 2nd Gwynn Evans, Steve Graham, Barry Evans, Chris Jacques 60.0. Just a couple of reminders. Thursday is an individual qualifier, names entered on IG please before you get to the first tee. Next Tuesday is the qualifier for The Welsh Greensomes, list is still up on the board but I will be taking it down after Thursday qualifier to do the draw. So anyone wishing to play can you get your name up or contact me. If you don't have a partner, put your name on the bottom of the sheet and we will try to get you a partner. Anyone wishing to play but not enter the competition can do so, as we are running a normal kitty comp the same day, so just turn up and we will add you to the end. Just a quick note about the Devon Trip. As some of you know I have been organising the trip for the last 4 years, having taken over from Fred. Now I know it may seem a bit of advance notice as we haven't been on this year's trip yet, but numbers have been falling, for various reasons, we only have 14 this year and 4 of those are guests. So I'm asking if anyone is interested in next year's trip to please contact me. I will send a more detailed itinerary out next week with costs, but if you can start thinking about it I shall be grateful. Thank

SENIORS GAME MAY 15TH REPORT FROM STUART MILES

Seniors, another glorious day, pray it lasts. A couple of housekeeping notes before today's results. Tuesday 20th May, a lot of the seniors are away at an open. So I suggest that those of us who want to play turn up at the usual time and we will decide on the format depending on numbers. Next Thursday 22nd May, is scheduled for an individual stableford, this is now a qualifier, so can you please sign up on IG, before you get to the first tee, thank you. A week Tuesday 27th May is the Welsh Greensomes qualifier. A sign up sheet is on the seniors board, those who have not entered can you please put you and your partners name, together with the tally numbers, on the sheet. Those who don't have a partner but wish to play, put your name at the bottom of the sheet and we will do our best to get you a partner. Can you sign up please BY THURSDAY 22 of MAY, as I will take the list on Thursday to make the draw. Today's comp, 30 seniors put their tallies up, a good number as some were playing matches in competitions and others on holiday or other commitments. Well I say 30, nice round number of 10 three balls, till someone after the draw was made and everyone was on the way to the tees, came up to me, no name, and said he had forgotten to put his tally up. Fortunately he agreed to mine and Steve Monks suggestion of tagging on to the last 3 ball and have his own game. Today's Results. 1st Tony Vesty, Peter Thomas, Stuart MIles, 134 points. 2nd John Maxted, Tom McGrady, Eric Thwaites, 133 points. 3rd LesWilliams, John Kelty, Bob Jarvis, 131 points. A mention to Bob Jarvis who scored 10 points on one hole with the yellow ball, well done.

Waltz and Tango tuesday may 6th 2025 report from Stuart MILES

Seniors, another glorious day for golf, not too hot and no wind may it continue. i have one note regarding the Devon trip for 2026 which I will send an email out separately. So today's result 32, seniors turned up so we have 6 x 3 balls playing a waltz and 4 x 4 balls playing a tango. Now I know somewhere not happy with the 2 competitions, your comments have been noted and I will bear it in mind for future days of competitions like this. Results. Tango. 1st Tom McGrady, Brian Beeton, Bob Jarvis, Mick Carnell 105 points. Waltz. 1st Chris Blazedell, Ian Pocklington, Stuart Miles. 76 points. 2nd Stephen Williams, Steve Graham, Tony Harcombe 71 points.

MATCH VS MILE END AT HOME APRIL 17TH 2025 REPORT FROM MALCOLM WILLIAMS

Match v Mile End - Home - Thursday, 17th April. We welcomed Mile End to Clays for the first time in a number of years this morning. We were rewarded with a beautifully sunny morning with the course in excellent condition apart from the still sandy greens ( roll on the rain?). They were an extremely friendly group and we were wonderfully fed afterwards by Hayley. Clays won the contest 7-1, continuing the excellent form in Seniors' team matches. There were two's scored by 4 players, two from each team as follows:- Dave A Jones - 2nd ; Chris Andrews - 5th ; Jeff Farminer - 5th ; Graham Wright - 17th ; Our next Seniors' match is on Thursday, 8th May versus Old Padeswood at home; there are still a couple places left - team list on the Seniors' Notice Board. Many thanks,

SENIORS RESULT TUESDAY APRIL 22ND 2025 FROM STUART MILES

Good afternoon Seniors. Before we start the report a reminder, that in future when there is a qualifier you are expected to enter the competition through IG before you get to the first tee. Unfortunately today we had one person who didn't enter the comp on IG and was therefore disqualified. Unhappy as that person was, even with his pound back, I and the committee feel that we have this rule and we can't start making exceptions. It's quite clear on the calendar each month when you are required to enter on IG, also you are given enough notice of upcoming qualifiers, I believe my report of last Tuesday, noted about today and asked you to enter on IG. It's not done to be petty, we try to have 3 qualifiers a month, including the Monthly Medal to enable guys to work on their handicaps, so all we ask is you register please. I know a couple of guys had problems logging on to IG this morning first thing, but that was sorted and if there are problems, please collar a committee member or go into reception to sort it out. Thank you. Right, today's results and report. 40 seniors put their tallies up to enjoy another pleasant morning, weather wise. The course was a bit wet in a couple of places but fine otherwise and the bit of rain has helped with the sand on the greens, another couple of weeks of this weather and it should be nearly perfect. Result. 1st Wyn Jenkins 37 points. 2nd Stewart Poole 36 points. 3rd Leslie Williams 34 points. 4th Stephen Williams 33 points c/b. 5th Alan Bottomley 33 points c/b. 6th Tom McGrady 33 points c/b. 7th Mike Carnell 32 points. Well done to those in the prizes. See you Thursday for a pair betterball. As we have a committee meeting those on the committee will be going out first as usual. Just one last thing those who haven't signed up for the May Medal can you please do so by Tomorrow. Thank you. Stuart.

BONUS BALL TUESDAY APRIL 16TH 2025. REPORT VIA STUART MILES

Seniors, good afternoon. Let's start by getting the latest senior moment out of the way. As I'm quick to point these out it seems only fair that it's my turn. Trolley loaded, shoes on, car locked I proceed towards reception, 10 feet bag comes off trolley still going, who forgot to strap his bag on. Stop the trolley, turn it around to rescue the clubs and Reg Peacock who is passing is picking them up, only for me to nearly run him over as the trolley is still going. Thanks and sorry for that Reg. Now I don't know if you have stumbled, tripped and got yourself back up and then looked around to see if anyone noticed, well plenty who were standing on the steps and path did, and quite rightly I got some stick. Another note for that book I must write one day. Right onto today's comp. 30 seniors put their tallies up for the Bonus Ball comp. A group were playing their doubles match in front and the forecast rain, which fortunately was only some drizzle for a couple of holes, may have kept some away. Numbers gave us 3 x 3 balls and 5 x 4 balls. One prize for the 3 ball and two for the 4 ball. Results. 3 ball. Don Wraight, Stephen Wiliams, Chris Roseblade 125 points. 4 ball. 1st Reg Peacock, Tony Harcombe, Steve Graham, Gwynne Evans 175 points. 2nd Selwyn Edwards, George Milington, Graham Wright, Graham Bryne 147 points. I have the prize money for Reg and all the team that came second, catch up with me next Tuesday for your prize money. A couple of notes, on Thursday it is the first of the inter club matches, we at home so best of luck to our guys, so no formal kitty comp. Next Tuesday is scheduled for an Individual stableford being played as a qualifier, Don has asked me to remind you to sign in on IG before you go out. Tallies up in the normal way, £1.00 in the kitty. Can you give me your cards once you have entered your score on IG, thank you. A change to the schedule for a week Thursday, the 24th April, I will change it to a pairs betterball as we have a committee meeting that day so the committee members playing will go out first as usual on committee days.

SENIORS MEDAL APRIL 2025 VIA MIKE HEALEY

Seniors - For the past couple of Winter months ig has not been able to handle the Blue course results in accordance with our division parameters and I applied our divisions for results. In an attempt (before going on holiday) to put the medal report out (instead of waiting for the resolved results), I was basing my winners on Handicap Index from our agreed parameters. I should have left it to ig, as it is set up for the white/yellow course. I am more than happy to put my hand up and say the misunderstanding is all mine on divisions. Playing at 95%, some individuals will change divisions for result purposes. I completely missed Wyn Jenkins who has climbed back up to Division 1 and I am apologising to all if they have now dropped to a non-winning position. All is clear on the resolved result from ig. Please find the final result below: Division 1 - 1st Wyn Jenkins 68 (c/b) 2nd Alan Barnsdale 68 (c/b) 3rd Reg Peacock 71 Division 2 - 1st Mike Healey 68 2nd Stewart Poole 70 (c/b) 3rd Vic Rogerson 70 (c/b) Division 3 - 1st Paul Cheetham 66 2nd Les Williams 70 3rd Peter Lord 73

PAIRS BOTH SCORES TO COUNT. THURSDAY MATCH 27TH 2025 REPORT VIA MIKE HEALEY

Seniors, another glorious day for golf. 42 senior tallies went up for Pairs both scores to count. I'm afraid this is a shorten report due to computer failure and having to do it on my phone. Results 1st Alan Barnsdale, Tom McGrady 72 points. 2nd Mike Drake, Peter Fraser 67 points. 3rd. Tom Pierce, Bob Jarvis 65 points. 4th Steve Graham, Peter Taylor 63 points c/b. 5th Neil Jones, Peter Lord 63 points c/b. See you Tuesday for kitty comp. Stuart. I would like to add that today's competition was a first in that we played pairs but also engaged everybody with an individual score to register for handicap purposes. This will become more frequent from now on. Also, all Senior Winter handicap reductions have been rescinded and we will be playing from full handicaps from this day going forward. Mike

WALTZ REULTS VIA MIKE HEALEY TUESDAY MARCH 25TH 2025

Tue, 25 Mar at 14:43 Seniors - no fewer than 42 members turned out this morning despite the forecast of some rain. There was drizzle as we arrived and a very light shower around 11.30am but it did not deter the players. We split into 6 x fourballs and 6 x threeballs allowing two separate competitions. A fortnight ago, we turned a Waltz into a Tango and did exactly the opposite this morning and a Waltz was played. As usual, the scoring at the top of both sections was close and all of the following players received prizes: Waltz Results: Fourball First: Paul Cheetham, Peter Taylor, Ernie Williams and Peter Lord (78 points) Second: Fred Court, Tony Harcombe, Mike Drake and Eric Thwaites (77 points) Threeball First: Chris Blazdell, Mick McHugh and Tony Vesty (73 points) Second: Mike Healey, Reg Peacock and David Cole (67 points) Quick reminder that all entries for knockout competions (Seniors and Main club comps) with appropriate fees, must be in by Monday 31st March. Thursday 27th March is Pairs - Both to Count and we are running it in conjunction with a qualifier - explanation at the tally board 8.45am.

PAIRS BETTERBALL RESULT FROM MIKE HEALEY

Seniors - Housekeeping first: You may have noticed a second noticeboard has appeared next to the main Senior board. This board is purely to display an (at a glance) annual calendar, in advance of any holidays you may be planning, or to look forward to big events like the Ryder Cup or Xmas Party. All of our majors are on there including also some club events that may be of interest. One of the dates is the 31st March, which of course is the cut off date for all of the senior and club knockouts. Don was busy today collecting entry fees but you have just under two weeks to get your entries in. Colour coding is self explanatory but the blank blue slots represent kitty competitions which do vary week by week. All of our matches are posted on the same board, the first of which is Mile End at home on the 17th April. Malcolm has already posted the sign up sheet on the main board so if you wish to be included, get your name on that sheet. Last of all - Thursday's competition is an individual Stableford Qualifier. Roll up as normal for a kitty comp draw at 8.45 and all will be explained. Today's Golf - Pairs Betterball. Stuart was otherwise engaged this morning so this is your Captain reporting. The weather was spot on in accordance with the BBC. Some of us removed frost from our windscreens first thing but it had not affected the greens and there was just enough sunshine to make playing conditions very pleasant. 42 Seniors appeared for the draw and the going was good with some good scores at the top requiring countback. The following five pairs all won prizes: Pairs Betterball: First: Andy Mitchell and Tom McGrady (44 pts) Second: Damian Atkin and Alan Pocklington (41 pts) Third: Bob Brown and Mike Drake (40 pts) (c/b) Fourth: Alan Bottomley and Paul Wallace-Jones (40 pts) (c/b) Fifth: Mike Healey and Brian Beaton (40 pts) (c/b)

REPORT FROM STUART KITTY COMPETITION MEXICAN SCRAMBLE

Seniors, what a glorious day for a game of golf, very pleasant weather, let's hope it lasts. The course is looking better each week and a thank you goes to Mark and his team. 46 seniors put their tallies up which I think must be the best for a kitty comp for a long time, this meant 7 teams of 4 and 6 teams of 3 playing a Mexican Scramble. It was my first time playing this game and it was most enjoyable. This format was the Captain's suggestion, so thanks Mike, one that I will include again. Results. (two prizes each groups) 4 Ball. 1st Alan Barnsdale, Les Williams, Peter Thomas, Alan Bottomley 60.7. 2nd Mike Scott, Richard Collier Graham Byrne, Graham Wright. 62.0 3 Ball. 1st Stuart Miles, Brian Beaton, Steve Graham. 65.1 2nd George Hughes, Mike Healey, Dave. A. Jones 69.4 Thanks to my 2 partners for an enjoyable day with the bonus of winning, which, I know it was noted at the presentation, but I did say I would mention it again, in no small part to Brian's 81 yard chip in on the 18th for an eagle. Well done Brian, must be going out first that helped (a standing joke between Brian and myself as he always seems to be last of the 16th and blames me for the draw.) See you on Thursday for another kitty comp, this time, Waltz. Stuart.

ST DAVIDS DAY REPORT FROM STUART MILES

Firstly a big thank you to Don Wraight for organising today, preparing the cards and prizes. A great day with 47 taking part made even better with the glorious sunshine. Nice to have 18 holes open for the first time this year, even if there were some tired legs at the end of the round. Prizes for the top ten, result as follows. 1st George Hughes 36 points. 2nd Keith Hawthorn 34 points c/b. 3rd Ernie Williams 34 points c/b. 4th Jane Evans 33 points c/b. 5th Don Wraight 33 points c/b. 6th Malcolm Williams 31 points c/b. 7th Andrew Mitchell 31 points c/b. 8th John Maxted 30 points c/b. 9th Alan Barnsdale 30 points c/b. 10th Peter Thomas 30 points c/b. Congratulations to George who was presented the trophy by Roy Jones , a former captain and one of those who founded this competition. Nice to see you again Roy. We also had another presentation to Paul Cheetham for winning the winter league and the Captain dually presented Paul the trophy and a bottle of Whiskey.

REPORT FROM STUART MILES

Seniors, before we start todays round up a couple of housekeeping notes. Firstly as Don reminded you next Tuesday, 4th March, is the Nearly St Davids Day Comp. The draw has been made, check the website or IG for draw. Please be there at 8.30 for a prompt start, with your £10.00 entry fee. 10 prizes plus the trophy to be won. Fee includes soup and a sandwich. Which brings me on to the next item. Hayley has asked anyone who has particular dietary requirements can they let her know by Thursday please. Captain's last supper is on the 21st March anyone interested in attending please get your tickets from Hayley, cash please. Right today's game. Last of the Winter League matches, we made it to round 6 despite some bad weather the last few weeks, but today we played in lovely sunshine and it was a very pleasant day. Three people were in contention at the start of the day. Result. 1st Chris Roseblade 20 points c/b. 10 winter league points. 2nd Peter Lord 20 points c/b. 9 winter league points. 3rd Peter Thomas 18 points c/b. 8 winter league points. 4th Alan Bottomley 17 points c/b. 7 winter league points. 5th Steve Graham 17 points c/b. 6 winter league points. 6th Alan Pocklington 16 points c/b. 5 winter league points. 7th Dave "Mole" Jones 16 points c/b. 4 winter league points. 8th.MIke Healey 16 points c/b. 3 winter league points. 9th Malcolm Williams 15 points c/b. 2 winter league points. 10th Reg Whittam 15 points c/b. 1 winter league point. Subject to a final check we can congratulate Paul Cheetham on being the winner of this year's Winter League, well done Paul. Trophy will be presented next Tuesday. Please also note that under the seniors winter rules, Chris Roseblade and Peter Lord I'm afraid you lose on shot for the remainder of March in all competitions, except the medal. Chris I have your prize money so catch up when we are next there. See you all on Thursday for Bonus Ball Kitty Comp.

REPORT ADDENDUM

Seniors - This report dovetails with Stuart's usual report on today's golf (Winter League Round 6 - Final Round). We have done well to get all six rounds in and more importantly, before the end of February. May I take this opportunity to thank Stuart for resolving all of the cards on each and every occasion. It is not easy on a normal day totting up scores but then to reverse figures for league points becomes very confusing and together with similar count- backs on reduced holes, is decidedly stressful. His tireless work has not gone unnoticed. Apologies for not having Round 5 printed out before today's final round and displayed on the board but the top three knew who they were and only these three competitors were in with a shout of winning. Following today's golf, we have scrutinised all of the previous results, checked with updated tables and we now have our annual winner in Paul Cheetham with a grand total of 28.5 points overall. Don Wraight was a worthy runner-up with 21 points and Ernie Williams with 19 points was just pipped into fourth place by Chris Roseblade making a late run and registering 20 points in third. Well done to those four seniors and indeed, the remaining 52 of you who took part in one or all of the rounds. The competition has been good and well contested throughout. Now we can look forward to the summer competitions and just pray that the course continues to dry out. Paul is not with us on Thursday of this week so the Winter League Trophy and bottle of whisky will be presented alongside the St David's Trophy plus prizes next Tuesday (4th March) at our Nearly St David's Day Competition. Finally, I am attaching the entire collection of result sheets across the rounds and the final table (Excel and PDF).

ROUND 5 OF WINTER LEAGUE RESULTS FROM STUART MILES

Seniors. Round 5 of the winter league, so far so good with the weather. 41 seniors put their tallies up for the penultimate round and despite a chilly start once the sun came out it was a pleasant day, warmer outside in the end than in the clubhouse. Can we have a wipe round for some oil please. Before the results, two messages, just to reiterate what Brian Beaton said about are open, please make the effort to sign up early, it looks better if we have a good full start sheet and as I said last week, think of the prizes that can be won and the wine at Christmas. Second point from Don Wraight, Nearly St Davids day, Tuesday 4th March, to help Don with the draw can we have entries in by Friday at the latest please. Entry is through IG, again prizes and trophy to be won. Thank you. Today's Results. 1st Alan Bottomley 23 points. 10 winter league points. 2nd Ken Burgoyne 22 points c/b. 9 winter league points. 3rd Jon Fulcus 22 points c/b. 8 winter league points. 4th Chris Blazdell 21 points. 7 winter league points. 5th Paul Cheetham 20 points c/b. 6 winter league points. 6th Nigel Davies 20points c/b. 5 winter league points. 7th George Hughes 20 points c/b. 4 winter league points. 8th.Stuart MIles 20 points c/b. 3 winter league points. 9th Peter Taylor 19 points c/b. 2 winter league points. 10th Dave Palferman 19 points c/b. 1 winter league point. Well done to everyone, Nigel and Jon. I have your prize money, catch up with me next time we are at the club. Mike hopefully will have the updated league table before next Tuesday's final round. Kitty comp on Thursday is 9 x 3 and 9 x 2. Stuart

WINTER LEAGUE ROUND 1 FROM MIKE HEALY

Seniors - Only 22 members appeared for Round 1 of the Senior Winter League. I believe quite a number had their eye on the weather but although cold and breezy we got away with the conditions. Melting snow prior to the day(week) had left quite a number of holes unplayable and we played our new Winter 9 hole course to get the League going. The 9 holes off our new elevated mat tees have proved popular but members are still trying to get their heads round the different hole indices which change for the shortened course. We got there in the end and as usual the winner received 10 league points for his endeavours, reducing down to 1 point for 10th place. Given the shortened course, there was always going to be a fair amount of countback because of stableford scores being close: First - Damian Atkin (19 points) Second - Don Wraight (19 points) Third - Graham Wright (19 points) Fourth - Mick Carnell (17 points) Fifth - Alan Barnsdale (17 points) Sixth - Mike Healey (17 points) Seventh - Richard Collier (17 points) Eighth - Paul Cheetham (16 points) Ninth - Ernie Williams (15 points) Tenth - Jon Falcus (14 points).

ROUND 2 WINTER LEAGUE RESULTS FROM STUART MILES

Seniors. Round 2 of the winter league, 34 seniors put their tallies up (only 33 in the competition) despite the recent rain the course was still fine. Cold start and overcast but no rain thankfully. Thank you for marking individual cards, it made checking the scores at the end easier, especially as scores were tight, 6 people on the same score which took some working out. Thanks to Mike for double checking my arithmetic. so can we carry on with individual cards for the next rounds please. Result. 1st Steve Graham 24 points. 10 winter league points. 2nd Michael McHugh 20 points. 9 winter league points. 3rd Peter Taylor 19 points. 8 winter league points. 4th Ernie Williams 18 points c/b. 7 winter league points. 5th Chris Bladell 18 points c/b. 6 winter league points. 6th Don Wraight 18 points c/b. 5 winter league points. Tied 7th & 8th. Paul Cheetham / Richard Collier 18 points c/b. 3.5 winter league points each. 9th Eric Thwaites 18 points. 2 winter league points. 10th Paul Wallace-Jones 16 points c/b. 1 winter league point. Well done to everyone, especially the great score from Steve and Michael, the down side for these two is I'm afraid you loose shots for the next round of the competition. As agreed with the committee last year anyone scoring over par looses 1 shot for every 2 points over par. So Steve I'm afraid you loose 3 shots, Michael 1 shot. These shots are taken of your club handicap and then 95% of that. THIS IS ONLY FOR THE WINTER LEAGUE COMPETITION, your normal handicap applies to all other competitions.

TUESDAY DECMBER 12TH 2024=XMAS TIPPLE COMP

Tuesday 12th December Our Xmas Tipple will be run as a Kitty Comp and depending on numbers, the cash prizes will be allocated as per normal. If you wear a Xmas hat or jumper (just to get into the spirit of things) you will receive a bonus point on your card – with partner also in festive attire (and you will not know your partner before the draw!) – 2 bonus points on the card. Was tipple mentioned? There will be a compulsory? Winter Warmer on the Ninth Tee (whisky and brandy) – Help yourselves - but be aware that there is a prize on this hole. There will be a normal bottle of wine each for the winning pair (highest points) Additional Prizes (don’t get too excited!) Nearest Pin in 2 (Hole 9) – Mini Wine Nearest Pin (Hole 5) or Nearest Pin in 2 (Hole 18) – Mini Wine Longest Drive on (Hole 14) – Mini Wine Kitty Cash apart – you can only win one bottle prize on the day so if you hit the green put your name on the sheet no matter how far from the pin. Same with the drive if it is reasonable length. You haven’t finished – There is a complimentary mince pie in the clubhouse afterwards. Help yourselves when you BUY YOUR OWN coffee or beer! Enjoy the comp. / tipple / pies and Happy Xmas.

PUTTING COMPETITION NOVEMBER 10TH 2024 RESULTS ETC FROM MIKE HEALEY

Seniors - We have once again been thwarted on the Blue Course, still 10 members turned in for some extra indoor putting. Not golf as we know it but the alternative is Xmas shopping or tidying the house for family visits over the festive period. On today's showing, it would appear that we are a little ring rusty, as a number of 3-putts started to rear their heads (yours truly included). We interspersed a couple of the normal circuits with a reverse circuit just for fun and then insisted on a one-handed round just to be awkward. Club Vice-Captain, Paul Wallace-Jones came out on top with the best overall score, beating Richard Collier by one less putt into the second place/prize. It was all close at the top but alas only two prizes for the loops. Paul also won the long putt exercise but the "one prize only rule" was applied and runner up Barry Dare picked up the winnings. Finally, Mr Captain was pipped in the skills exercise by Barry Evans, who walked away with the cash. Sounds like Las Vegas style winnings. We never trouble HMRC but we can make £10.00 go a long way and the banter and mickey-taking more than makes up for petty cash prizes! We were joined by a couple more members for the breakfast baps with coffee and the usual banter continued until about 11.00am. My thanks go to Eric and Richard for collecting the money and paying Hayley at the end. The additional results and prizes from today's putting session have brought to a close our win statistics for 2024 (11 months) and Stuart will present the stats in his report next Tuesday at the AGM (we keep getting the plugs in!) We will send to all a copy of the AGM Agenda and also a copy of the 2023 AGM minutes sometime over the weekend. We are still hoping for a 9 hole Texas Scramble in the morning next Tuesday and the AGM will start promptly at 12noon. The proceedings will begin with a presentation of a cheque for donations from our Ken Lawrence Memorial day to Kevin Forbes, who will be representing the Royal British Legion. We are hoping to see as many seniors as possible at the club. Please add your signature to the sign-in sheet as you enter the dining area on arrival. One last thing in this report - can we all offer up a prayer to the weather gods in the hope that we at least get in a couple more rounds before 2025

KEN LAWRENCE MEMORIAL TROPHY 2024

The Ken Lawrence Memorial Trophy was initially postponed this time last year and eventually cancelled altogether because of course closure. We have more than made up for it this year. 50 tallies went into the draw at 8.45am, including a number of our newer brethren. Just to remind everybody - all competition fees for this event are donated towards the Royal British Legion for their Poppy Day Appeal. Threeballs and Fourballs went out from the regular three tees and having a dry 18 holes, at this time of year, was the icing on the cake. From a cold start, even the sun came out mid-morning and made the effort. The course was in good condition and greenstaff have worked very hard on reducing the fallen leaves, so not too many ball searches. Given the numbers, the whole competition took a little bit longer than usual but most seniors remained for the presentation. Just before the results were announced, Mr Captain asked everyone to bow their heads following armistice lines and informed all present of the recent demise of past senior member - Lew Bush. He thanked Stuart for resolving 50 cards and then announced the top 3 scores. There wasn't to be any kitty comp prize money on this occasion as we only present to the winner. A worthy mention of the runners-up though, Richard Collier and Paul Cheetham, both returning cards with 37 points each but the winner and recipient of the Ken Lawrence Memorial Trophy (and a bottle of malt whisky) was Wyn Jenkins with 38 points. Don stepped up with his camera (David Bailey style) and not only did he shoot the presentation but the whole group as well. Of course Wyn was not the only winner, as Chris our treasurer, collected and counted the money donated and so far we have reached the sum of £391.00. There is an envelope in reception for further donations if any of our members missed the golf today and it will remain there at least until next Tuesday. When we have a final sum, a checque will be presented to a RBL representative at our AGM on Tuesday 3rd December (did you spot the plug there?). The golf was good, as was the food and banter afterwards. All in all a satisfying day all round. Pairs Bettedrball on Thursday and we start the Winter League next Tuesday. See you there.

4 BALL AND 3 BALL KITTY COMPETION RESULYS 0CTOBER 29TH 2024 FROM STUART MILES

Seniors. What looked like we were going to get very wet as we arrived this morning, it all changed as the draw was taking place, rain stopped and hazy sunshine appeared. The round was completed on a very nice Autumn day. 31 turned up this morning to play Yellow ball. 4 groups of 4 balls and 5 groups of 3 balls. Result. 4 ball. (1 prize) 1st Stewart Poole. Tony Harcombe. Stuart Leyland. Mike Hollings. 122 points. 2nd Tom McGrady. Liam Roddis. Paul Wallace-Jones. Dave. A. Jones 117 points. 3 ball (2 prizes) 1st Peter Lord. LesWilliams. Barry Dare. 112 points. 2nd Colin Evans. Wyn Jenkins. Paul Cheetham. 103 points

KITTY COMPETION RESULT OCTOBER 24TH 2024 FROM STUART MILES

eniors, Sorry for the late report, it's been an hectic day and I have only just picked up the cards from Clays for the kitty comp. Let's start with the good news, as you may have known the seniors team were away to Wrexham today in an interclub match and I am happy to report that we beat them 6 1/2 to 3 1/2. Well done to everyone, very satisfying result. Thank you to Malcolm and Tom for all their hard work in organising this match and others throughout the season. Arriving at the club for the kitty comp draw before I went to Wrexham I found a willing volunteer in Nigel Davies who said he would check the cards and sort the kitty money out for the Texas Scramble. A big thank you Nigel for stepping in and I hope you didn't get too much abuse. 26 seniors turned up and it meant 5 x 4 balls and 2 x 3 balls. Result; 4 ball's 1st Wyn Jenkins, Alan Barnsdale, Ian Ketland, Ken Hawthorn. 43.5. 2nd Jon Falcus, Graham Bryne, Tom McGrady, Peter Bowen. 43.9. (before anyone emails me, I'm not sure who won the 3 ball, I'm sure someone will let me know)

INDIVIDUAL STABLEFORD OCTOBER 22ND REPORT FROM STUART MILES

Tue, 22 Oct at 15:45 Seniors. Well after the rain at the weekend and more overnight I was pleasantly surprised to find the course open this morning. But it was and thank goodness as we had a lovely sunny pleasant Autumn day. 38 seniors put their tallies up and Individual Stableford was the order of the day. With the 16th hole closed and only 13 holes open, Don and I decided to send some groups off the 5th, which seemed to work well, except having to wait for a 3 ball who had gone out before us. They weren't slow and didn't hold us up, so while the 16th is shut we may do this in future. A very good first prize was on offer for today's competition with such good numbers. Result. 1st Dave. A. Jones 27 points. c/b. 2nd Alan Barnsdale 27 points c/b. 3rd Nigel Davies 26 points. 4th George Hughes 25 points. 5th Jon Fulcus 23 points. 6th Peter Fraser 22 points. 7th Ken Tieszen 21 points c/b. Remember that Thursday the team are away at Wrexham for an inter club match. I'm playing in the match but will come to the club first to organise the Texas Scramble which is scheduled for that day. I'm looking for a volunteer to collect the cards and divy the money out and send me a quick report please. Thank you in advance. Cheers. Stuart.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 15TH 2024 KITTY COMPETION LAS VEGAS REPORT FROM STUART MILES

Seniors, despite the murky skies and threat of rain 42 seniors put their tallies up for today's competition of Las Vegas, a really good turnout. With the numbers it was decided to have 2 competitions of 6 x 4 balls and 6 x 3 balls. Now we have delays on some of the tees as the 16th hole is shut and that can't be helped at the moment. Several 3 balls skipped holes and went to the 5th to try and ease things then came back and played the holes they missed. I will look, as was suggested, at putting groups off the 5th to see if this helps, so please bear with me. As reported by Mike and myself we have had a number of senior moments the last few games but today reached new heights. I started it, there was a discussion of past winners on the honours board, I stupidly asked why 2024 was blank, well it is still 2024. There were concerns that I deal with the kitty money and should I be allowed to handle money. But the next senior moment definitely sets new standards. Checking the cards I found I had only 5 3 ball cards in but all the money for the 3 balls. With help we established who the group were and I approached them to ask who had the card only for 2 of the players, one had gone, to look at each other and said they had thought the other was marking the card, so no card. They had been stating the scores they had on each hole, but thought someone else was marking a card. I will save them embarrassment by not naming them, but this is a first, unless of course you know different. Please keep me informed of any senior moments, that's taking that you can remember them to tell me. Results; 4 ball 1st Peter Bowen, Paul Cheetham, Graham Wright, Tony Harcombe 489 points. 2nd Stuart Leyland, Chris Roseblade, John Falcus, Mike Scott 499 points. 3 ball. 1st Barry Evans, Peter Lord, Mike Mchugh, 485 points. 2nd Mike Drake, Stewart Poole, Nigel Davies 502 points. Important note from the Captain and Don regarding Thursday's medal. There is a threat of bad weather tomorrow, please check IG to check if the course is open on Thursday, if the medal is cancelled it will not be rearranged. Also check IG or the start sheet on the web site as tee times where put in 10 minute intervals and not 8 minutes. It should have been adjusted but please check. And finally there will be no bar open on Thursday, so no food or coffee. Drinks are available from the shop or coffee machines. Thank you. Stuart.

PAIRS BETTERBALL OCTOBER 3RS 2024. REPORT FROM STUART

Seniors, well after Sunday and Monday's downpour we managed to get out. What a glorious day, sunshine, pleasantly warm and no wind. Considering the rain the course was in good condition with only holes 16 and 17 closed. 32 seniors put their tallies up and the format was pairs betterball. 4 prizes with the 4th place being decided on a countback between 3 teams and 1st and 2nd place on a count back. Results; 1st Paul Cheetham / Richard Collier 34 points. c/b. 2nd Ken Burgoyne / Mark Hughes 34 points c/b. 3rd Chris Blazdell / Tony Vesty 33 points. 4th Don Wraight / Andy Mitchell 32 points. There has been some debate about the preferred lies in the rough. I will clarify this and send an email out once it has been agreed before next Tuesday. One other item Jon Falcus was presented with his voucher for his win with his partner Nigel Davies (Nigel had already received his voucher, but pointed out that I hadn't mentioned his name when doing the presentation, sorry Nigel) in a DGU competition at Llangollen, congratulations to both of them. Nigel wanted to make a speech but thankfully his request was shouted down. Weather permitting, see you next Tuesday

CLAYS PAIR WINS DGU AUTUMN MEETING. REPORT FROM ALAN POCKLINGTON The Clays pairing of Nigel Davies and Jon Falcus were the winners last Sunday at Llangollen. This was the DGU Autumn Meeting, the final DGU event of the season. They won with the magnificent total of 47 points! Congratulations to them, and also my thanks to the other Clays players who entered the event. It was very well supported with 19 Clays pairs entering. Below is the text from the DGU Web site. Alan Pocklington AUTUMN MEETING : Report and results. Thanks to everyone who attended yesterday at Vale of Llangollen Golf Club and braved the unseasonal weather, which ranged between Storm & Tempest , a Plague of Frogs and Glorious sunshine! We witnessed our largest ever field with 150 players registered but then disrupted by 7 players failing to attend and one last minute apology. Our thanks are extended to the players who help us by shuffling around and accommodating the inevitable 'tweaks' in start times on the day. RESULTS: As seems to be the 'norm' in current events, the returned scores were remarkable, bearing in mind the weather. The winners were Davies & Falcus (Clays Golf Driving Range & Golf Course) with 47 pts, winning on countback from Tweedie & Brown (Vale of Llangollen Golf Club). Subsequent places were secured by: 3rd : Evans & Waddell (Moss Valley Golf Club - MVGC Official) 46 4th : Bull & Jones (Plassey - Holiday Park, Retail Village & Golf Course) 44 5th : Pearce & Griffiths (Vale of Llangollen Golf Club) 43 12 pairs scored 42 points or more and, as required by the WHS, their cards will be returned to their home club for handicap modification . This ends our events for the year and we thank EVERY player for their support.

CLAYS SENIORS VS WREXHAM . REPORT VIA MIKE HEALEY

Seniors - I start with a quick report regarding the non-match playing seniors. I'm not sure of exact numbers (12/13) but groups went out before today's match and organised their own kitty comp. I believe Reg Whittam took the honours but the groups were a bit scattered and not all cards came back to me. Well done all for having an extra stableford comp. Today was yet another match win for Clays Seniors against other clubs. This time it was the turn of Wrexham Golf Club, who requested home and away fixtures at the start of the year. Before the golf is mentioned, I have to sing the praises of Mark and his greenkeeping staff. I believe the course was closed for a short period on Sunday due to the downpours over several days. Plenty of work went into the course to get it ship-shape and when Malcolm visited yesterday, he was told it was playable. Indeed it was and in much better condition than any of us expected. Just before the golf, Hayley arrived early for our usual coffee but we were inexplicably thin on the ground from both teams. The unknown factor was traffic problems on the by-pass. A number of players arrived slightly after the expected start time but eventually we got everybody under way. The scores came in and Clays ran out winners 7.5 against 2.5. We held our regular Ballsweep and there were a number of prizes: Jane Evans - 2's on both12th and 17th holes Neil Gledhill - 2's on both 5th and 12th holes (Wrexham previously Clays) Andrew Chisholm - 2 on the 5th hole (Wrexham) Bottles of wine from the raffle draw were won by Tony Cooke and Huwie Griffiths (both Wrexham). Excellent food from Hayley, great rivalry and banter from the Wrexham players, good golf and a good day had by all. Thanks once again to Malcolm and Tom for their organisation. The sign up is now posted for the return match on the 24th October at Wrexham GC.

INDIVIDUAL STABLEFORD QUALIFIER SEPTEMBER 19TH 2024. REPORT FROM STUART MILES

Seniors, after the excitement of Tuesday's Not Quite the Ryder Cup it was back to normal today with an Individual Stableford Qualifier. 34 seniors put their tallies up and set off to enjoy the lovely Autumn sunshine, lovely day for golf. Once we managed to get our scores in IG thanks to the guys in reception for helping out the results where; Results; 1st Dave A. Jones. 34 points c/b. 2nd Dave Mole Jones 34 points c/b. 3rd Jonathan Fulcus 33 points. 4th Peter Lord 32 points. c/b. 5th Keith Hawthorn 32 points. c/b 6th Alan Bottomley 31 points. Congratulations to Dave who had a superb back 9 score of 21 points, to just pip Dave Mole on the countback. Alan, catch up with me next time I have your prize money. Just a reminder that next Tuesday there is a home match against Wrexham, best of luck to the team and here's hoping you thoroughly beat them. Anyone else wishing to play before the match needs to book at tee, last one at 8.40am. Next Thursday is a kitty comp, Mutilipler. Cheers. Stuart.

Not quite the Ryder cup report from Mike Healey

Seniors - It escapes my particular Senior mind as to who dubbed this competition "Not Quite the Ryder Cup". It is better than the actual Ryder Cup in terms of commitment, team spirit and camaraderie. I am not convinced on the golf but once again, our senior section managed to create a great atmosphere, before during and after the event. The competition is not a new concept at Clays, in fact it was being run along similar lines in the early 2000 years. As an experiment, a sign-up sheet was posted and 2022 saw 48 seniors doing battle. 2023 was the exact same copy of the previous year and indeed, the result remained the same. Yes - both years ended up being an equitable draw, even after a series of telephone calls and reserves stepping in. This year was different - 13 pairs signed up for their respective teams: Wales v Rest of the World and a further three seniors pinged in for the reserve list. My thanks go to Bev Nicholson, Russ Adamson and Peter Bowen for being on standby. Peter even turned up on the day and ended up taking the main photo on the clubhouse steps. Both teams looked resplendent in their red and blue and a number of Welsh flags were spotted on and around the course in between fairways. Signals were being made and finger calculators were being put into use for result prediction. All team communications came to a halt when, Alan Barnsdale scored his Hole-in-One on the fifth hole. The news spread fast and even got back to the clubhouse before Alan. The two captains: Barry Evans and Peter Taylor made their pair selections/order of play lists last Thursday, when the kitty comp was rained off but announcement of team selection was a hard kept secret right up until immediately after the group photo. The battle began and slowly but surely the results started to drift in. The pace was reasonable although none of us would have minded a few more minutes out in the sunshine. The prizes were lined up and prizegiving began. The occasion started with the presentation of Medal winners from September. Div One - Ernie Williams, Div Two - Tony Harcombe and Div Three - Paul Cheetham. The two team captains were presented with their Honorary bottle of wine and the result announced. For the first time ever in three years we had a winner as follows: Wales = 6 matches won and Rest of the World = 7 matches won My congratulations go to Peter and his team who proceeded to step up and receive their mini bottles of wine and a Billy Bonus Golf Ball. The clubhouse saw nearly everybody staying for the result and there was a great atmosphere all round. It was all finished off with a tot of whisky for those that wanted one, from Alan's Hole-in-One. My final thanks go to Chris Roseblade who took photos on the course and Richard Collier who photographed the prizegiving. A great day had by all - please find photos attached

LAS VEGAS FORMAT SEPTEMBER 12TH 2024. Report via Mike Healey

0 Seniors - It was always a bit of a "gamble" playing the "Las Vegas" format on a day that was forecast for heavy rain. Just over a dozen members turned up, four got as far as pulling out trolleys - two of whom, donned full weather gear with the intention of going out and headed off to the first tee. I believe one of Shakespeare's expressions was "Discretion is the better part of valor!" and that certainly applied this morning. The two stalwarts re-appeared rather sharpish, as the heavens opened further and conditions worsened. The rest of the Seniors stood around debating weather forecasts at length and the general concensus was that the rain was not going to abate much before late morning hence the Las Vegas was abruptly cancelled. 3 or 4 remained behind for machine coffee, but the car park cleared by 9.30am. From my point of view, it was opportune to catch the two Ryder Cup Captains and go through the selection process with them. I can now announce that Wales will be led by Barry Evans and Peter Taylor will take charge of RotW. They sat down separately and selected their pairings and I have subsequently completed a draw, which will be announced on the day. There will be a draw sheet posted with names, times, tees and shot allowance based on today's handicap index. We are playing 90% of Course Handicap. Should your handicap index change before Tuesday, you must adjust your shots accordingly (if needed). Next Tuesday, with hindsight, would it be too much trouble to arrive slightly earlier than suggested in the last communication. If we can be ready for a photograph at 8.30am, announce the teams and start moving to tees about 8.40am. The Captains will lead the way but the rest of us need to be right behind them at 8.50am for our starts. We have 5 groups off the 1st, 4 off the 16th and 4 off the 14th - with 52 playing (great commitment) we need to be on the ball getting to tees. No doubt you will all look resplendent in your reds and blues and should there be echoes of "Sosban Fach" , "Ilkley Moor baht at" and other jingoistic callings drifting across the fairways, it will all add to the occasion. I thank you all for signing up and look forward to our annual battle of the nations. See you all on Tuesday. Mike

HESWALL SENIORS OPEN AND OTHER FUTURE NEWS

Seniors - Firstly, my thanks go to Dave Palferman for a quick report returned from the Heswall Senior Open today, followed by notification of the forthcoming "Not Quite the Ryder Cup" competition next Tuesday. Four intrepid senior members ventured forth in what can best be described as horrendous weather; high wind, torrential rain, hailstones and the odd clap of thunder. Memories of our trip to North Wales golf came flooding back, no pun intended. The course at Heswall was presented in excellent condition with wide, well maintained fairways and beautiful looking greens. As normal players from Clays found the greens a little slow but true. We would recommend a return visit when the weather is more suited to playing golf. Unusually for a senior open, the competition was an Individual Stableford 95% off yellow tees today. It will be a more normal 4BBB next year. Unfortunately, the scores were adversely impacted by the weather: Dave Palferman 39pts Dave Mole Jones 32pts Jon Falcus 31pts Colin Brown 29pts Regards Dave P. "Not Quite the Ryder Cup" - Tuesday 17th September I have in my possession a sign-up sheet with 50 names on it, which breaks down to 26 Welsh players and 24 players for RotW. Ideally we require 2 more names for RotW or one of our Welsh players to change allegiance and we would send out a singleton match at the front of the pack. First come first serve on names to me via e-mail. We don't really wish to go beyond 52 players (already 13 tees) I am attaching a printed copy of the sign-up sheet (now in alphabetical order) for all of you to check that you are all still available. I have added today's H/Cap index by your name for selection purposes only. If it changes before Tuesday, obviously you play off your new handicap. The Team Captains will be announced tomorrow after our Las Vegas competition and pairings will be decided for a Pairs Betterball by them over the weekend. The teams/pairings will be announced immediately after our traditional photograph at 8.45am on the steps (please arrive slightly beforehand, if you wish to be on the photo). There will also be a printed copy of the draw on the handicap board outside to check. We ask that all Wales team members wear a red shirt/top and RotW team members wear a blue shirt/top. Back at the clubhouse, please return all cards to Mike and remember your usual £1.00 kitty comp fee to cover inexpensive prizes for the winners. We have two more requests: Please make every effort to remain at least long enough at the end for the prizegiving and most importantly, it would be most appreciated if you could let me know at any time over the weekend, for any reason, if you cannot play next Tuesday, so that we can balance the teams. Contact: mjhealey@talk21.com or 07716 527332 See you in the morning.

GOLF REPORT REF HAWARDEN

Seniors - Report number two for the day. Malcolm organised 16 of us to visit Harwarden GC and a splendid day we had. Like us, the greenkeepers started their ground maintenance yesterday and half of the greens had been tyned and sanded but still in reasonable condition. The remaining greens were in very good condition for putting. We recognised a number of the opposition, who were all very helpful with tips around the course and eventually Clays team ran out winners by 6 matches to 2. We experienced a couple of squals early on and the tailenders caught the last of the rain just before coming back to the clubhouse. The 2 course meal was very welcome and catering staff thanked for their service. Apart from the team result a number of players received balls in the sweep. Unfortunately, Harwarden do not recognise 2's on their fifth hole because it is deemed too short (104 yards) but the players who made a two still get a mention - Reg Peacock, Jeff Prestwich and Kev Taylor (both Harwarden). Kev also recorded a two on the second, along with Ian Dyment (both Harwarden) and Paul Wallace-Jones. Those three all received balls. Last but not least, we had the usual raffle draw for wine and lo and behold, both bottles were won by Clays players - Richard Collier and Dave A Jones. Thank you Malcolm and I believe the team sign-up sheet is now on the board for the Wrexham match on the 24th of the month.

INDIVIDUAL STABLEFORD SEPTEMBER 10TH 2024 FROM STUART MILES

Seniors, with an away match 27 seniors still put their tallies up even with the prospect of rain, which we got and boy did it rain for a few minutes. With the planned course maintenance ongoing it was decided to play individual stableford and any holes that could not be played the player was to record a net par and 2 points. All but a few of us managed to play the 18 holes. Results. 1st Mike Carnell 34 points. 2nd Peter Fraser 33 points c/b. 3rd Alan Pocklington 33 points c/b. 4th Mike Drake 32 points. 5th John Falcus 31 points c/b. 6th Wyn Jenkins 31 points c/b. See you all on Thursday for Las Vegas, by which time I would have learnt the rules, rather than confusing you today like I did.

CLAYS FINALS WEEKEND REPORT VIA ALAN POCKLINGTON

FINALS WEEKEND REPORT Finals weekend was held on September 6th & 7th. It includes 11 finals from the Honours Board Knockout Competitions. The preliminary rounds started in April, so this Finals Weekend is the culmination of a lot of effort by all the finalists throughout the season. Saturday was a pleasant day weatherwise, and conditions were good. Sunday was wet, but not excessively so. There was an unconventional running order due to the fact that 2 of the finalists were playing twice on the Saturday. My thanks to Graham Davidson - Clarke and Jane Evans for doing this and thereby making it possible to complete all the matches on the weekend. The unconventional running order did not work out how I thought it might! However, everybody completed their matches in good time and in good humour. There was also a good social gathering in the bar before the matches with everyone enjoying the bacon bap and coffee provided by Hayley and Clays Council. Thanks Hayley! THE WINNERS Ladies Betterball Jane Evans and Julie Hanmer-Price Gem Trophy Adam and Mike Jones Seniors Matchplay Nigel Davies Abershield Trophy George Hughes Scratch Cup Conor Mitchell JCB Shield Jack Whitehouse Aber Rose Bowl Angela Thomas- Williams Mixed Foursomes Graham Davidson- Clarke and Jane Evans Clays Challenge Cup Andy Matthews Seniors Pairs KO Stuart Miles and Eric Thwaites Flick Cup Graham Davidson - Clarke and Paul Wallace-Jones CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners! Especially to Graham, the only double champion this season. Well done everybody. My thanks also to the runners up. It is always disappointing to lose at the last hurdle. I think that it is however a great achievement to have reached and played in the final. Thank you for your contribution to the competitions. Without you they cannot exist! My thanks also to the referees, Fred Court and Chris Jones, also Mick Mchugh, Patrick Mc Hugh, Marion Williams and everyone else who assisted with the day's organisation. Alan Pocklington Next up is Presentation Day on October 19th at 2.30. All the season's Trophies will be presented and the prize money handed out. All are welcome to attend and offer the winners and runners up their congratulations. There is a Texas scramble in the morning before the presentation. All are welcome to enter this. It's a Shotgun Start, so book your favourite tee early!!

WALES GOLF TEAM HANDICAP FINALS REPORT FROM ALAN POCKLINGTON

WG TEAM HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS On 1st September Clays Teams went to Tredegar Park Golf for the Wales Golf Team Handicap Finals. The men's team, consisting of Iqbal Shergill, Keith Hawthorne, Richard Collier and Aaron Jones were veterans of the format, having qualified via the Clays Qualifier and the subsequent DGU eliminator. The Ladies, consisting of Jane Evans, Angela Thomas-Williams, Christine Evans and Shan Stapley, went straight for the Finals. And the result? Both of our teams finished in a very creditable 4th place in their respective Finals! In an all Wales Championship Final, this is a great result by all the players. Here at Clays Golf we are very impressed! Thankyou for representing Clays so well. There were, however, two matters causing dissatisfaction. Firstly, Wales Golf had made a late switch of venue from Celtic Manor to Tredegar Park. The latter lacks the prestige of the former! Secondly, and I think more importantly, the playing condition of Tredegar Park was not good. It featured long grass on the fairways, patchy greens and areas of GUR , some surrounding the greens. This is not how a Championship course should be presented. Clays Council have sent a letter of protest to Wales Golf. A reply is awaited.......... Notwithstanding the conditions, our players went on to produce a good result Congratulations to them all, Alan Pocklington Competitions Secretary

SEPTEMBER 2024 MEDLAL RESULTS VIA MIKE HEALEY

The weather first. Cloudy all morning with a chill breeze at times - we could all have done with just a little bit of sunshine but the good news is that it remained dry. For such a large number (51 in total) the playing threeballs progressed around the course very well and the whole competition just flowed today. Before reporting any of the divisional scores and Ballsweep, we must all note a certain young man who hit a rescue club on the second tee, followed it up to the green but could not find his ball. He knew it was close but presumed it had gone through the green to the rough at the back. Eventually, it was found in the hole and we must all offer our congratulations to Ernie Williams for his hole-in-one. Whisky was placed on the bar afterwards and for those who wished to imbibe, all had a tot to celebrate Ernie's good shot/fortune. The report on twos in the Ballsweep makes very similar reading because there were no twos except a single hole-in-one, so Ernie will be a few bob better off with that result. As if a hole-in-one was not enough, Ernie continued to score well and found himself on top of Division 1. Read on for the rest of the divisional results before it becomes the Ernie Williams Roadshow 🤪: September Medal: Division 1: 1st - Ernie Williams (68) (c/b) 2nd - Jon Falcus (68) (c/b) 3rd - Reg Peacock (69) (c/b) Division 2: 1st - Tony Harcombe (70) (c/b) 2nd - Bob Jarvis (70) (c/b) 3rd - Dave A Jones (73) (c/b) Division 3: 1st - Paul Cheetham (66) 2nd - Peter Lord (73) 3rd - Les Williams (75) (c/b) Congratulations to all.

PAIRS BETTERBALL AUGUST 3RD 2024. REPORT FROM STUART MILES

Seniors, decent weather after yesterday and once the sun came out a pleasant day for golf. 36 seniors put their tallies up and pairs betterball was the order of the day. 4 prizes. Results. 1st Alan Barnsdale / Ernie Williams 44 points. 2nd Paul Wallace Jones / John Fulcus 39 points. 3rd Wyn Jenkins / Mike Drake 38 points c/b. 4th Ken Burgoyne / Colin Brown 38 points. Just a further note, Fred Court has been doing his rules questions and answers. A few more replies to the questions would be appreciated. He has also agreed that anyone who has a question on the rules, perhaps something that has come up during your round, please forward it to him. He will answer it and forward it to everyone else for their information. Thank you. Best of luck for those in the medal Thursday, see you next Tuesday for a kitty comp for those who are not involved in the away match to Harwarden. Format to be decided on numbers.

GOLF REPORT THURSDAY AUGUST 29TH 2024 FROM STUART MILES

Seniors, good afternoon and I have to say it's nice to be back playing golf after a few weeks off. Thanks to Mike , Don and others who have covered for me in my absence. Before we have today's report I have a message from Malcolm. He is 5 players short for the match away to Harwarden a week's Tuesday, if anyone can play can you please put your name on the sheet on the board or contact Malcolm or myself directly, thank you. Today's kitty comp, well after a bit of an autumn feel first thing it turned out to be a glorious day and that showed with 46 seniors putting their tallies up, most this year I think, Mike will let me know if I'm wrong. Texas scramble was the order of the day and with the number we had we had 6 x three balls and 4 x four balls. 2 prizes for each group. Result. 3 balls. 1st Andy Mitchell, Tom Blackshaw, Mike Scott. 64.7. 2nd Barry Dare, Tony Harcombe, Nigel Davies. 66.00. 4 balls. 1st John Falcus, Eric Thwaites, Tom McGrady, Peter Lord. 59.9. 2nd Don Wraight, Alan Bottomley, Pauline Peacock, Keith Hawthorn 62.2.

SENIORS GOLF AUGUST 27TH 2024, REPORT FROM MIKE HEALEY

Michael Healey Tue, 27 Aug at 17:46 Seniors - you are about to receive no less than two reports from today's endeavours. Firstly, the match against Holywell (away) was contested between sixteen members from each club and as they normally do, they arranged to play an Am/Am. They were a little disappointed in their own greens, which had some treatment a fortnight earlier and they apologised in advance. The friendship between groups has always been and will remain tip-top. The barman and kitchen staff were thanked for another excellent meal and I don't think I have ever had a bad meal there. There were two two's scored on the day and Malcolm Williams and Ian Jones both received balls - well done them. Their club random draw for a bottle of wine was won by Ram Patel (Holywell) and the overall winners (who all received a bottle of wine) were Ian Naylor, Brian Law (both Holywell), George Hughers and Mike Healey recording 82 points. The runners up were just one shot away. My thanks go to Malcolm for all of his organisation, both before and during the day. The second report arrives courtesy of Don Wraight, who organised the home draw for an Individual Stableford, played and resolved the cards at the end, before sending this report: Excellent turn out today in spite of 16 players away at Holywell, 32 players turned up at Clays this morning to play an Individual Stableford competition. The course as usual, was very good and although very windy, we all managed to get round before the rain came, which to be honest the course needed. Excellent scores with the top 6 winning prizes: 1st Mike Drake 40 pts 2nd Colin Bown 38 pts (c/b) 3rd Peter Taylor 38 pts 4th Paul Cheetham 35 pts 5th Russ Adamson 34 pts 6th Fred Court 33 pts (c/b) My thanks go to Don for his contribution today and well done all of the above winners

CLAYS SENIORS OPEN RESULT FROM MIKE HEALEY

Clays Senior Open - Where do I start? That one is easy - it has to be the thank yous. At the top of the tree comes Mike Hollings who has fronted the entire operation, kept us on our toes and organised everything that we have experienced today. I would add my thanks to all the members of the committee who have played their part in a variety of jobs throughout the day, some starting at 7.00 am and others finishing at the other end - 6.45 pm. Adding to that, my thanks go to Andy for arriving early to open everything up and allowing buggies for gazebo operations. Club Captain, Mr President and ladies from the ladies section have been present in the Halfway House throughout the day and overall, it was a great team effort. Hayley employed extra staff for the refreshments afterwards and it was a long day for them. One of my biggest thank yous goes to Mark and the Greenstaff for their magnificent work prior to the competition. The course was in excellent condition and lots of compliments were received. Finally, to the seniors who contributed to the raffle prizes, a massive thank you for your input, which raised ove £400.00 on the day and who knows, the Xmas Party could be a good one this year. Weatherwise, I believe we all expected damper weather from an earlier point in the day but it held and the fine drizzle did strengthen with heavier rain later on for the afternoon tees. It did not deter the winning teams who also seemed to arrive from the later tees. Over 100 participants took part, 54 of them being Clays Seniors. Apart from twos in the ballsweep (which are not recorded here) there were a variety of prizes alongside the major three winning prizes for points. Read on for full results: First: Graham Davidson-Clark and Jane Evans - 43 points (c/b) Second: Alan Bottomley and Mick Carnell - 43 ponts (c/b) Third: Jon and Sue Falcus - 43 points (c/b) The three cards were decided on back nine - 23, 22, and 21 consecutively. Well done all! Nearest the Pin on the 5th hole was won by Mal Hughes (Clays) Nearest the Pin in two on the 18th hole (guests only) was won by Bill Hughes (Padeswood and Buckley) Nearest the Line on the 10th hole was won by Tony Harcombe (Clays) Overall, it was a day that suited all with many going home having enjoyed their golf.

9x3 plus 9x2 results AUGUST 20TH 2024 RESULTS VIA MIKE HEALEY

Seniors - You have already received my report about the Clays Senior Open and the winners were fairly late in on Thursday last week, so they in turn, received their prizes on the day. Or organiser Mike Hollings, brought along the rest of the prizes today and they were duly presented before today's results were announced. I still have an envelope for Malcolm Hughes and Mick Carnell. Malcolm Williams was also able to fill the team sheet for next Tuesday and we now have a full team to play Holywell at their place. The draw has also been made for the DJ Bogie competition this coming Thursday, Today's golf - Our latecomer was let off for his tardiness and late tally this morning because it made up the numbers to a perfect 36 members. 9 x fourballs set forth for a (9x3) plus (9x2) in fairly warm weather. Any mention of intermittent showers disappeared, as blue skies with a little cloud ruled the weather, giving us very pleasant conditions. The course remains in great condition leaving no excuse for poor scoring. There were three prizes in total today- read on for scores: (9x3) plus (9x2) Results: First: Peter Lord, Peter Taylor, Alan Pocklington and Barry Evans - 110 points Second: Don Wraight, Andy Mitchell, Graham Wright and George Hughes - 97 points Third: Fred Court, Peter Fraser, Ian Ketland and Jon Falcus - 94 points

MATCH VS ALDERSEY GREEN AT HOME PLUS INDIVIDUAL STABLEFORD RESULT

Seniors - Yet another win for Clays Seniors in their match against Aldersey Green at home. I have waxed lyrical about the course condition for weeks now and it is not letting us down. We met up with the opposition for coffee, making acquaintance with both new and old friends and the golf flowed. No fewer than 18 opposition were on show today, giving us a winning score of 6.5 to 2.5. A few thank yous went out to two members who stepped in very late to accommodate the opposition - John Kelty and Ken Tieszen. Lo and behold they were both drawn out by the opposition in the raffle and both received a bottle of wine - just desserts. More thanks went to Jane Evans also for stepping in and representing the team and she ended up being the only person out of 36 who scored a two (on the second green), receiving balls in the ballsweep for her efforts - well done Jane. My final thanks went to Tom Pierce for organising everything that required organising and supporting me on the day. The food was excellent as always from Hayley and her staff. A very enjoyable day for golf, conviviality and once again without rain. We also received a message from Andy Mitch that 8 earlybirds went out for an Individual Stableford before the match: Individual Stableford Result: First: Alan Barnsdale - 36 points Second: Don Wraight - 35 points

DGU COUNTY CAPTAINS DAY AUGUST 4TH 2024

The DGU County Captains Day was held at Clays last Sunday 4th August. 25 Clays entrants set forth out of a total entry of 74 entrants. There were 6 categories of prizes with winners and runners up awards in each. That makes 12 in total. NO FEWER THAN 8 OF THE PRIZES WERE WON BY CLAYS PLAYERS! These included 4 winners - Richard Collier, County Scratch Champion - Phil Davies County 6 to 16 Champion - Nigel Davies Senior Handicap Champion - Nick Buley Captains Day Stableford Winner. Plus the 4 runners up! This is a fantastic result. My congratulations to all 8 of you. My thanks also to our other entrants for their support on this day. Many thanks as well to Wayne Harris from the DGU for his organisation on the day, to Gareth Roberts who brought the event to Clays, and to Peter Bowen for his very long stint as starter. Below is the full text from the DGU web site with all the details. Alan Pocklington Competitions Secretary DGU County Captain's Day 4th August 2024 : Results ---------------------------------------------------- This year's County Captain Gareth Roberts has passed on his and the County's thanks to Clays' G.C. management and their greens staff for hosting and presenting the course in such a fantastic condition. He had received many compliments from members of other DGU clubs. He also thanked John Hatcher and Wayne Harris for their organisation skills on what turned out to be a very long day. Also, thanks went out to both Peter Bowen and Allan Pocklington for doing the starter duties on the day. COUNTY CAPTAIN'S DAY : RESULTS County Scratch Champion - Richard Collier Clays 75 Runner Up - Ian Hall Plassey 76 County 6 to 16 Champion - Phil Davies Clays 65 Runner Up - G. Davidson Clarke Clays 69 County 17 to 28 Champion - Gavin Millington Moss 43 Runner Up - James Houston Clays 36 Senior Gross Champion - Andy O’Loughlin Denbigh 79 Runner Up - Huw Parry Denbigh 80 CPO Senior Handicap Champion - Nigel Davies Clays 69 CPO Runner Up - Dave Palferman Clays 69 CPO Captain’s Day Stableford First Prize - Nick Buley Clays 42 Second Prize - Jack Whitehouse Clays 36 CPO All Scores are Stableford Points, except for County Scratch and Seniors Gross Competition which are shown as gross score. CPO = Card Play-off NOTE: Prize Vouchers will be issued via Club Representatives as soon as possible Spot Prizes of golf balls were given on the day to the following : Nearest Pin 12th - Chris Parry MVGC/County Vice Captain. Longest Drive 14th - Arwel Hughes Denbigh GC Nearest the pin in two 18th - Ian Hall Plassey GC

ALDERSEY GREEN SENIORS OPEN AUGUST 2024

Today's Report from Aldersey Green Senior Open: Hi Mike - Another good day although quite cold and with the odd threat of rain but it did stay dry. The course was in good condition overall but most of us thought that the greens were a bit slow. With their rating and giving a 90% handicap for pairs betterball we all had more shots than we normally play off but, it was the same for all the entrants. Some excellent scores overall and our kitty competition was quite tight. On one of the par 3 holes, one of our group hit the ball about 170 yards onto the green with it never leaving the ground. He than got a 3 for 4 points. No names but his initials are MD. Well done. First place Mike Drake and Tony Harcombe with 48 points Second Dave Mole Jones and Alan Bottomley with 47 points Third Eric Thwaites and George Hughes with 46 points. Other scores ranged from 36 to 44.

RHOS ON SEA MATCH RESULT VIA MIKE HEALEY

Hi Mike - A very enjoyable day at Rhos on Sea although the weather was a bit cloudy with a chilly breeze at times. Once again the course was in excellent condition with a lot of run despite heavy rain yesterday. The greens are fantastic with the contours being the subject of much discussion at the end. As always at these events there was a wide range of scores with pairs competing for our own 3 prizes. First:.... a surprise.... (Not really.) Richard Collier and Dave Palferman 40 points (21 on back 9) Second: Ernie Williams and Andrew Mitchell 40 points (19 on back 9) Third: Vic Rogerson and Alan Barnsdale 39 points. A further six pairs recorded scores between 31 points and 38 points. Thanks to all those who played

SENIORS RESULTS AUGUST 6TH 2024, RESULTS VIA MIKE HEALEY

Seniors - Another scorcher. The sun shone, the fairways had bounce and the greens are super - what more could we ask? No fewer than 28 seniors took themselves off to the Rhos-on-Sea senior Open and low numbers were expected at home. 24 tallies were perfect until a latecomer made it 25, so we split into 3 x threeballs and 4 x fourballs for a 2 to Count. Before the kitty prizes were announced, there was a reminder about raffle prizes for our own Senior Open next week and the Senior Captain also presented the monthly slate coasters to the winners of each section for the August medal. There were only two prizes going to the winning team in each section for today but the runners-up also get a mention: Threeball - 2 to Count: First: Alan Bottomley, Barry Dare and Mike Turner - 72 points (Prize) Second: Bryn Williams, Tony Vesty and Mike Healey - 71 points Fourball - 2 to Count: First: Mark Hughes, Mike Scott, Paul Cheetham and Fred Court - 87 points (Prize) Second: Steve Graham, Barry Evans, John Kelty and Peter Lord - 85 points

GOLF RULES VIA FRED AUGUST 2024

Seniors - Second e-mail of the day. Some of our kitty comps are won by a single point on occasions (a missed putt or a missed breach of the rules). Some observations have led the committee to look into the knowledge and application of rules by our senior section. Many members are good and many are average in their knowledge of the rules. Some, quite frankly, are diabolical with certain rules and we debated how we can improve the circumstances. The "Sheriff" for the senior section has always been Fred Court and we have asked him (having rejoined the committee) to publish a series of questions and answers, so that we might all improve our knowledge of the rules, should we need to. I thank Fred in advance for his planned contributions - please find below Fred's introduction to the series: Sheriff on the Golf Rules. As a teenager my sport of choice was “Fencing” a sport with integrity. For example if a judge missed a blade contact on your target area, but you knew contact had been made, you called “touche”, acknowledgement of a possible score against you. Many of you may say I am too pedantic with the rules but to me the same integrity should apply within the game of golf and the correct interpretation of the rules. A misunderstood application in the use of a rule will give a favourable score advantage to you against the rest of the field, therefore I am asking Seniors to take a few moments from time to time to read and understand the rules and their application, in order to create a level playing field. If a fellow competitor having scored 5 on a hole asked for 4 to be recorded, I am sure there would be a review of the play on the hole and the correct score of 5 recorded, so why do so many of us believe it correct to ignore the application of a penalty for a breach in the rules, eg. a player failing to mark the ball position where a rule permits the ball may be lifted, with one caveat, the ball position shall be marked. In competition a player has two responsibilities - the first being the correct gross score for each hole is applied to his card and second, as the attester for the gross scores on the card marked for a fellow competitor. Note a gross score is the number of strokes made plus any penalty strokes that should be applied. Monthly question and answer blogs will follow. The "Sheriff" Is back

AUGUST MEDAL 2024, RESULTS VIA MIKE HEALEY

Seniors - I believe 46 of us ventured forth in yesterday's senior medal, with possibly some of us coming fifth (apologies). I thank two people for the day - firstly, Mark and crew for presenting the course in excellent condition. The fairways in general looked great and held well after some heavy overnight rain. The greens are the best I've played on locally this year. My second thanks goes to Don for organising the weather to accompany the medal draw. It makes you feel like playing everyday when we can go out in shorts and T-shirts to do battle like we did. There was no excuse for shoddy scores and some good scores were indeed returned. Before the divisional results there are a couple of twos to announce in the ballsweep. Congratulations go to Don Wraight on the 5th and Nigel Davies on the 12th - well played both. August Medal Results: Division 1: 1st - Ernie Williams (70), 2nd - Jon Falcus (71), 3rd - Eric Thwaites (71)(c/b) Dave Palferman also carded 71 but missed out on countback. Division 2: 1st - John Kelty (67), 2nd - Peter Fraser (68), 3rd - Mike Healey (73) Dave A Jones also carded 73 but missed out on countback Division 3: 1st - Steve Graham (71), 2nd - Peter Lord (73), 3rd - Paul Cheetham (73)(c/b)

YELLOW BALL TUESDAY JULY 30TH 2024, REPORT FROM MIKE HEALEY

Michael Healey . Tue, 30 Jul at 20:53 Seniors - despite 8 regular members contesting the Senior Pairs knockout early doors, 32 further seniors threw their tallies into the bag for a Yellow Ball in the scorching heat. The course was great today, greens fast and true, the ball running on fairways and overall an enjoyable day for everyone's golf. There were two prizes only, despite the top four cards all competing closely: Yellow Ball Result: First: Ken Tieszen, Mike Griffiths, Dave A Jones and Mark Hughes - 165 points Second: Fred Court, Chris Jacques, Jon Falcus and Mike Healey - 162 points

MATCH vs HAWARDEN AND KITTY COMPETITION JULY 23RD 2024. REPORT FROM MIKE HEALEY AND ANDY MITCHELL

Seniors - I received the following report from Malcolm last night but (with many grandchildren in tow) only now able to publish. Thank you Malcolm. Match v Harwarden (H) - Another really good win today for our team against Hawarden at home - 6.5 - 1.5. Nigel and I were the only losers - on the 18th! He was an excellent replacement for you with an interesting speech, as you can imagine. The course and weather were superb - the Hawarden boys were complaining that the greens were too fast! Hayley's food once again did us proud and we received numerous compliments from our visitors about the course and food. Our next match is at home to Aldersey Green on Thursday, 8th August - there are still a couple of places available. There was also a report from Andy Mitchell detailing early risers in an Individual Stableford: First: Andy Mitchell - 32 pts, Second: Tom McGrady - 30 pts, Third: Alan Pocklington - 26pts - thank you for organising Andy

MILE END MATCH FROM MIKE HEALEY

With only one tee to play from at Mile End (10.00am), we have had a think about timing and I have decided to go with a pre-draw. My grandchildren insisted on helping to make sure there was no cheating so any written complaints can go to them in triplicate and sent to their address in Prestwich. An earlyish meet is still advised for admin purposes (9.30ish/9.45ish) and for me to collect your £15.00. I am attaching yet another spreadsheet for your perusal - you will note your playing partner and tee time (you may have earned a 20 minute lie-in). I am putting buggies out first followed by Stuart Miles, who will collect kitty comp money after your game and resolve cards. If we can get away earlier, I would like the buggies ready and waiting and I have used 8 minute gaps in between tee times. It is not about rushing round but getting everbody away within the hour if possible. I also have a couple of other minor prizes to make it worthwhile for all. We have been advised that food will be served as we arrive back in groups rather than wait for 36 to appear. Thank you all for your co-operation and see you on Thursday.

SENIORS 2 DAY CHALLENGE. REPORT FROM MIKE HEALEY

Seniors - Having missed the Two Day Challenge personally, I am a bit out of the loop, hence late report. For certain, you all had a mixed bag of weather with early starters on Tuesday seeing the rain and warm, muggy, cloudy conditions on Thursday. Despite some pools of water across some fairways from the heavy rainfall, I believe the greens were like lightning, which doesn't always suit all, but still the results came through. For the headline on this report, we must congratulate Tom Blackshaw on his magnificent score, especially on the second day. A combined 38pts with 44pts (82pts) is one of the best, if not the best score I have seen as a senior. I cannot remember any score for this competition being over 80pts in the past, so well done Tom. The runners-up were some 14pts behind on 68pts and equal second from Paul Cheetham and Richard Collier led the rest of the field. Well done to all who took part in a great field of 44 participants. I am listing the top six results for your perusal: Senior Two Day Challenge: 1st: Tom Blackshaw - 38pts and 44pts (total - 82pts) 2nd=: Paul Cheetham - 34pts and 34pts (total 68pts) 2nd=: Richard Collier - 35pts and 33 pts (total 68pts) 4th: David Palferman - 39pts and 28pts (total 67pts) 5th=: Michael Carnell - 34pts and 32pts (total 66pts) 5th=: Don Waright - 38pts and 28pts (total 66pts)

SENIORS RESULTS JULY 11TH 2024 VIA MIKE HEALEY

Seniors - I didn't play today and I thank Richard Collier for standing in at short notice. Tom did another magnificent job of organising everybody for today's home match with Northop GC. We registered a resounding 8-0 victory and possibly may consider this club for am/am fixtures in the future. The rain persisted but not uncomfortably so and nobody came in looking like bad adverts. By all accounts, all matches were convivial and Hayley's two course meal was well received. Indeed, one of the away members admitted that their players sign up early to play Clays because they like the food so much. Richard Collier was the only player to register a two (on the second hole) and was duly presented with his golf balls. The wine raffle also took place and both bottles (red and white) went to the opposition - small compensation for their match loss. All in all, a great game and great company - thank you again Tom. Reminder - the sign up for the match versus Hawarden at home on 23rd July has been posted. We are currently one player short and could always do with a couple reserves. On my arrival at the club today, 7 other seniors had booked early for an individual Stableford, which was won by Alan Barnsdale with 35 points and Wyn Jenkins arriving in second with 28 points. Remember our Open on Thursday 15th August - some members have been asking about getting partners. I am happy to put up a notice for you to sign next Tuesday and you can then pick your own partners. Other Opens - Peter Bowen is still not fit after his proceedure and is asking if anybody could take his place on Tuesday 13th August to play in the Pryors Heyes Open. Please contact Brian Beaton if you can fill this place. Last of all - following our outing to the Antrobus Open last week, Brian was presented with a free two ball visitors voucher worth £60.00. We conducted a draw on Tuesday and your Captain picked out his own number. Now I know what you are thinking?! We conducted the draw completely independently but nevertheless, I have accepted the voucher and I am conducting a blind auction between now and the end of the month. Please e-mail your bids to me and the best bid will receive the voucher. All proceeds will go to the Senior funds raised by the raffle on the day of the Open. I hope everybody believes that to be fair

SENIORS VETS TROPHY RESULTS FROM MIKE HEALEY

Seniors (and on this occasion) may I add Vets for this particular Trophy. I am going to start off by giving you all a huge thank you for your generosity last Thursday, following the medal. Maureen Elkin sat at the bar selling raffle tickets on behalf of Nightingale House and we contributed just over £100.00 between us. The Jean Key Charity for Nightingale House was a success the evening afterwards with 14 seniors and others taking part (this has been reported previously on ig). Jean sent me a personal e-mail the following day and asked me to thank you all - well done. Before today's golf report, dates are cropping up fast so keep checking your diaries. One important one is our very own Senior Open, which is on Thursday 15th August. The committee keep checking and there are very few golfers signed up for that date, let alone senior golfers from Clays. It is one of our biggest fund raisers of the year for the senior section so please find a partner to challenge others and do sign up as soon as possible. If you play elsewhere with golfing friends, ask them to bring friends to the Open and make a day of it socially. Remember £100.00 each for the winning pair and good prizes thereafter. We need you to rally behind the committee - your committee NEEDS YOU. Don has promised to raffle a boat - I'm not sure we saw one last time it was promised but it raised a lot of laughs, not to mention money. Get signing up!! Senior / Vets Trophy - I believe the highest age for seniors, way back in the day, started at 45 years of age and increased as the section grew bigger. When certain members reached the age of 70 years, it was decided to split the difference and add a Vets Trophy to the already played for Senior Trophy - hence the name of the competition. 44, shall we call them for today only, elder brethren, turned up for this board competition on a day forecasting horrendous conditions (that's dedication) and there were some good scores returned at the end of the day. I am not going to make an excuse of the weather for my disastrous score but it certainly didn't help. On/off showers throughout could not have helped anybody but looking at the top of the leaderboard, the top dozen scores or so did not seem to have done too badly. Most of us managed to get through the puddles that appeared but I feel obliged to report a magnificent "Barnes Wallis" style shot bouncing through the large puddle on the 11th fairway by Mike Drake. Somebody suggested "Ducks and Drakes" - I don't take responsibility for that one! We had to go into admin for dates of birth to determine who represented the Seniors and who represented the Vets so don't be embarrassed if your name appears in the latter half. There is only one trophy for each of the above but I am reporting the top three in each divide. Well done to all and I believe there might also be some twos prizes to follow when the competition is eventually closed. Senior / Vets Trophy ResultsThird: Seniors - First: Dave Palferman - 67 (c/b) (Winner of Senior Trophy) Vets - First: Reg Peacock - 69 Second: Ken Burgoyne - 67 (c/b) Second: Chris Jacques - 70 Third: Nigel Davies - 68 Third: Don Wraight - 71

DENIGHSHIRE QUALIFIER TEAM HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP AT OLD PADESWOOD JUNE 30TH 2024

Hi Derek, The Denbighshire Qualifier for the WG Team Handicap Championship was held at Old Padeswood on Sunday 30th June. The Clays 2 team consisting of Keith Hawthorne, Aaron Jones, Iqbal Shergill and Richard Collier were the worthy winners of this event. It is a stableford format with the best 3 scores out of 4 to count. Clays 2 amassed a magnificent total of 120 points - that's an average of 40 pts per player! They will now go on to represent Clays in the Finals of this event. This is held at Celtic Manor in early September. Congratulations to all 4 members of the team. It is worth mentioning that they will be joined at Celtic Manor by our Ladies Team who are competing in the Ladies version of this competition. Alan Pocklington Competitions Secretary

SENIORS MEDAL JULY 4TH 2024

Seniors Medal Thursday 4th July Division 1 1st David Mole Jones (14) 68 2nd Reg Peacock (20) 69 Division 2 1st Kenneth Burgoyne (25) 69 2nd Brian Beaton (26) 69 Division 3 1st Peter Lord (32) 73 2nd Paul Cheetham (37) 74

Jean Key Charity competition

Thank you to the thirty-three competitors who took part in this charity competition, it was a great evening. The weather was kind, and the halfway house was well stocked with delicious homemade cakes and savouries. Behind the scenes, Jean and all her supporting friends had been busy donating raffle items, making cakes, organising the competition, finalising cards and generally helping to make the event a success. The winners of this mixed competition were. Jayne Gibson 31pts, £50 voucher for the Club Shop Angela Thomas Williams 27 pts, £40 meal voucher for Pant-yr-Ochain Shan Stapley, nearest the pin on 5th, voucher for Salon 120 Hairdresser Craig Mathieson nearest the Pin on 12th, £40 meal voucher for Hickorys Top 10 results 1st Jayne Gibson 31pts 2nd Angela Thomas Williams 27 pts 3rd Kim Harcombe 25 pts 3rd Luke Steel, 25pts 5th Beverley Hood 25 pts 6th Mick Mc Hugh 23 pts 7th Tony Harcombe 23 pts 8th Shan Stapley 23 pts 9th Sue Falcus 23pts 10th Pauline Peacock 23pts There were 19 raffle prizes, and the following members have a winning ticket. Please collect your prize from reception. Sue Williams, Pauline Peacock, Hayley (Clays), Bob Jones, Ruth I, Pauline Wright, Alan Pocklington, Dave Palfreman, Mick Carnell, Jack Whitehouse, Sharon Price, Stuart Leyland, Carol Jones, Jo Morris, Jayne Gibson, Steve Monk.